


what if i'm far from home (oh brother, i will hear you call)

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Number Five | The Boy, I firmly believe that would’ve prevented the apocalypse, It’s nearly midnight and I’m crying over hey brother, Number Five | The Boy Deserves Better, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Tbh if this had happened, and how perfect it is, heck, set in season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26552596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: Five stays over at Vanya's apartment in the first episode of season one.The Commission follows him there.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 353





	what if i'm far from home (oh brother, i will hear you call)

Five sighed, head leaning back against the end of the couch with a thunk. Vanya was in the next room, asleep. She thought he was crazy. She thought he was making it all up. The apocalypse, their deaths, his forty-five years of existence.

He’d thought... he’d thought she, of all people, would believe him. He’d thought that  _surely_ she would... it took effort to swallow, his eyes stinging. But he'd been wrong.

He'd been waiting forty-five long years for this moment, the anticipation of finally seeing his family again driving him onwards. That and the hope of saving their lives, of, at long last, stopping the apocalypse. But no, he had forgotten that they had all built a life. His family had spent seventeen years thinking he was dead and gone. They had made their peace and let go, they had grown up and moved on and  _lived_.

He hadn’t.

He was stuck, still trying to save their lives.

Five sighed, running a hand down his face as he peered at the clock. It was almost a quarter till six.

He should leave.

Vanya wasn’t going to help him, he could already tell. He’d taken the time to explain himself, to explain what was happening, and she hadn't believed him. (It had never occurred to him, even once in those forty-five years, that he would have to convince his siblings of the truth of the matter.) There was nothing else to say, at least right now on his highly limited schedule. He would stop the apocalypse and then he would take time, really take the time to prove it to them.

But for now. For now he was going to leave.

He stood, carefully, the couch creaking, and then paused, breath hitching.

The floor creaked again.

But not from him.

From outside.

_Fuck_ .

Five dropped behind the couch just as the door slammed open, Vanya's flimsy lock no match for the blow.

He plastered himself against the ground, waiting with bated breath, every muscle taut as he lay, still.

There was the heavy clunk of boots on the wooden floor, the creak of the floorboards. He could see them moving from underneath the couch, one, two, three pairs of boots. Heavy, dark, combat boots. This wasn’t a burglary. If it was, they would’ve been making an effort to be quiet, to be quick. This was _loud_. This was _deliberate_.

Why wasn’t Vanya awake yet?

Surely, she’d heard the door get busted open. Surely, she had to have some common sense, didn't she?

He licked his lips, frozen, flingers splayed out white-knuckled on the floor.

It wouldn’t be long before they noticed him. But he wasn’t worried about that. He could take care of three people. What he was worried about was Vanya, still asleep in the back room, or if not asleep, completely powerless in the back room.

One of them spoke as they fanned out around the couch, "Intel said he might be here. We're to exterminate everything inside."

Five closed his eyes with an inaudible sigh.

Of course they were here for him. _Of course_ this was his fault. The Commission had the address to his sister's apartment and had decided to be competent, for once, and cover all their bases. Of _fucking_ course.

Five braced himself and vanished.

There was a shout, a cry, a panicked, "He's here!" as he appeared across the apartment, by the window, away from his sister's bedroom. He took in their positions, their weapons, waved cheekily and disappeared again, all in the time it took for them to raise their weapons and fire.

Bullets shattered glass as Five reappeared in the opposite direction. He grabbed the arm of the closest man, twisting it. The man grunted, trying to push him off as Five reacted, elbowing him in the nose. The man cried out, the other two turning as Five snapped, "Fuck off!” He pressed down on the man's finger, still on the trigger. They both fell under the spray of bullets, loud and ear-shattering and violent. 

Vanya's apartment was trashed, but they were dead at least.

Five kicked the man still reeling behind him, yanking on the gun. The man snarled and swung blindly with his other hand. Five ducked, letting go. He fell backwards and braced himself, calling upon his powers, just as he heard a small frightened voice, "Five?"

The blue fizzed to nothing in his hands, terror filling him, " _Vanya?_ "

The man with the gun saw his damning reaction and turned, bringing up his weapon to Vanya who just stood there, clearly horrified at the bodies and blood.

The man fired.

Five screamed, tearing apart the fabric of space-time to get to his sister.

He appeared next to Vanya, slamming into her, desperate, eyes wide as he faced down the barrel of the gun. There was a gunshot, a scream, the sound of metal hitting flesh.

They both lay motionless on the floor, Vanya gasping, her brother thrown over her, smelling of sweat and blood and coffee as his fingers clutched her shirt.

For a moment, she was deathly scared. Scared that he was dead, again. That he had left her life once more and this time for good.

Five hissed, breaking that impossibly infinite moment between breaths of pure unadulterated dread. He turned to his side, hands pushing against the floor as he struggled to his feet, Vanya staring up at him with fear.

He faltered as he finally stood, but the man didn’t fire, merely waiting, his gun trained on them both. Five coughed, spitting blood, before he wiped his mouth. Vanya stared in shock and horror, "Five..."

He waved at her to be quiet. His palm was coated in blood.

She swallowed, stilling, half propped up on her hands.

Five hissed at the man, "What do you want?"

The man was trembling, terrified, "N- Number Five. The- the Handler orders you to return. You’ve broken your contract."

Five held up his hands, brows furrowed, voice breaking, "Look, please-“

The man jerked his head, "That won’t work. I know what you are. You’re a killer, not a- not a kid." His fingers tightened around the gun, "You’re a legend, Number Five, sole survivor of- of the apocalypse. You fucked with time, so time fucked you. So I know- I _know_ how old you really are."

Five's straightened, huffing, "Great. The first person who takes me seriously and they’re on the wrong fucking end of the gun." He pressed a hand to his side, grimacing, "So what are you waiting for? Take me to the Handler."

The man blinked with surprise, "Wait, really?"

His hesitation was enough. Her brother vanished, the man startled with a shout, his gun turning back to her as Five appeared next to him, grabbing his arm and twisting. The man cried out as his wrist snapped, the gun falling to the floor.

Vanya scrambled to her feet, pressing herself up against the wall.

Five ducked a punch, vanishing again.

The man screamed, and he was so fucking  _scared,_ tears spilling down his cheeks, "Wait- don't kill me! Please!"

Five appeared again with a blink of blue and white, a butter knife in hand, twirling it between his fingers as the man blubbered, "Please, please I’m sorry- we were- we were ordered too-“

Five shrugged, unsympathetic, "Well, maybe you should’ve thought it through before going after me- after my  _family_ , asshole." Five ducked under a clumsy swing and jammed the knife up into his neck, twisting it down to the hilt. The man choked, gurgling, Five staring him in the face, drawn and grim, as the light went out of the man's eyes.

Vanya gaped, horrified as Five finally withdrew the knife, letting the body fall to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

He glanced up, lips twisting, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head, "Five- you just- you- he-“

Five stepped closer and she flinched back.

He paused, stilling, something impossibly fragile there in his eyes as he spoke quietly, "He was going to kill us, Vanya." He held up his hands, letting the crimson stained knife drop, fingers slick and scarlet, "I told you. Rapists can climb."

She choked on a laugh, and then paled, remembering, "Five... you- you got shot-“

Five snorted, shaking his head, "I was playing it up. It’s just a graze." He lifted the hem of his sweater, revealing a sight that made her want to vomit- that of torn flesh and blood... but it did look to have only just hit him. He turned to stare at the bodies littering her wrecked apartment, "We need to get out of here."

"Five-“

Five turned again, raising an eyebrow, clearly impatient.

She bit her lip, "What he said... it was... what you said was true?"

Five slumped, weary, "All of it."

She looked worried and then stepped closer, "Five... I’m... I'm sorry. For not believing you- I didn't-"

Five sighed, something tired in his eyes, "It’s... it's not your fault, Vanya. No one else believed me either. It's..." a sigh as he repeated again, "It's not your fault. Don’t apologize for it, okay?"

She nodded and then moved forward.

Five watched her warily. 

Vanya reached out, touching his shoulder as he frowned up at her. Her face crumpled, tears spilling as she yanked him into a hug, "I’m glad you’re alive." 

Five blinked before carefully bringing his hands up to return the embrace, "I'm... I'm glad you’re alive too." 

After a few moments, Vanya let go, one hand scrubbing at her cheek, the other, still holding onto her brother's coat, reluctant to let go. He’d left bloody handprints behind on her shirt, but she found that she didn’t care. 

Five made no protest at the contact, sticking near her, "We should go." 

Vanya spoke quietly, hesitantly, "Okay. But we go together."

Five nodded firmly, "Together."

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is here: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/


End file.
